“I just feel so worthless!” Have you ever said those words? Have you ever believed those words?
Perhaps the deepest, most malicious lie many people believe is that they are “worthless.” A comparison of dictionaries shows worthless defined as, “lacking worth; of no use, importance, or value; despicable; good-for-nothing.” These are pretty apt descriptions of what “worthless” feels like, right?
Alternative words often used include contemptible, shameful, ugly, vile, useless, insignificant, pointless. Anyone who has carried around the burden of “being worthless” has felt all these things and more. But no matter which synonym you choose, all of these words are lies when it comes to any person, any human being! While we may be undeserving of any good thing, deserving and worthy are two vastly different realities.
To “be deserving” means to have earned something and it points to the value of an action that we have performed—a functional or doing value. Worth, on the other hand, is not about “doing” but about “being,” and refers to the inherent essence of something.
For example, suppose you have a block of gold sitting on the table in front of you. That block of gold, being gold, has an inherent (fundamental and built-in) worth no matter what form or shape it is in. If it is melted down and shaped into a doorstop, its worth is still the same; but its functional and aesthetic value have changed.
That same block of gold melted down into a cream pitcher to use with Grandma’s fine-China tea service will have a different functional and aesthetic value, but it is still gold and still worth what it was before anything was done to alter it. Now, we can add gemstones and fashion that gold into a magnificent jewelry ensemble, greatly increasing its functional and aesthetic value; or we can leave it in its rawest form and stuff it under a manure pile. The one thing that does not and will not change is its INHERENT WORTH.
In like manner, when we consider each and every human being on planet Earth, we find that each and every person – no matter what they have done or have not done—has inherent worth because each and every one of us is created in God’s image (imago dei — ĭ-mah-go DAY).
This concept of us humans as bearers of the imago dei goes all the way back to the earliest chapters of the Book of Genesis in the Bible. Genesis uses the phrase “imago dei” three times, and each time it refers to God’s view of mankind, not mankind’s view of himself.
First, we see God creating man in His image (Genesis 1:26-27). Then we see that the children born to the first man and woman are also “in the image of God” (Genesis 5:1-3, with 1:26-27 revisited).
The third time Genesis uses the phrase imago dei is highly significant and points to the sanctity of all human life — again from God’s perspective — when God institutes capital punishment for murder.
Here is what we see: Noah and his family have just departed the ark following the flood and God gives them the basic laws they are to live by. Two laws are brand new: first, from this point on you will be eating meat, and do not eat it alive or raw; second, “Whoever sheds human blood, by other humans must his blood be shed; for in God’s image God has made humankind” (Genesis 9:6, NET).
Scripture’s emphasis on the imago dei does not end with Genesis 9. In the New Testament, Jesus’ half-brother James revisits and intensifies how we are to regard one another when he says, “But no human being can subdue the tongue; it is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse people made in God’s image” (James 3:8-9, emphasis added).
The list goes on and on, including how there is rejoicing in heaven when ONE sinner turns from their sinfulness and surrenders to Christ as Savior (Luke 15:7, 10). This rejoicing comes as a result of the restoration of a lost loved one to their rightful and intended place as a future co-inheritor with Jesus, one who will be glorified right along beside Him (Romans 5:1-2, 6, 8, 10; Romans 8:16-17, 28-29).
Perhaps the deepest, most malicious lie many people believe is that they are “worthless.” A comparison of dictionaries shows worthless defined as, “lacking worth; of no use, importance, or value; despicable; good-for-nothing.” These are pretty apt descriptions of what “worthless” feels like, right?
Alternative words often used include contemptible, shameful, ugly, vile, useless, insignificant, pointless. Anyone who has carried around the burden of “being worthless” has felt all these things and more. But no matter which synonym you choose, all of these words are lies when it comes to any person, any human being! While we may be undeserving of any good thing, deserving and worthy are two vastly different realities.
To “be deserving” means to have earned something and it points to the value of an action that we have performed—a functional or doing value. Worth, on the other hand, is not about “doing” but about “being,” and refers to the inherent essence of something.
For example, suppose you have a block of gold sitting on the table in front of you. That block of gold, being gold, has an inherent (fundamental and built-in) worth no matter what form or shape it is in. If it is melted down and shaped into a doorstop, its worth is still the same; but its functional and aesthetic value have changed.
That same block of gold melted down into a cream pitcher to use with Grandma’s fine-China tea service will have a different functional and aesthetic value, but it is still gold and still worth what it was before anything was done to alter it. Now, we can add gemstones and fashion that gold into a magnificent jewelry ensemble, greatly increasing its functional and aesthetic value; or we can leave it in its rawest form and stuff it under a manure pile. The one thing that does not and will not change is its INHERENT WORTH.
In like manner, when we consider each and every human being on planet Earth, we find that each and every person – no matter what they have done or have not done—has inherent worth because each and every one of us is created in God’s image (imago dei — ĭ-mah-go DAY).
This concept of us humans as bearers of the imago dei goes all the way back to the earliest chapters of the Book of Genesis in the Bible. Genesis uses the phrase “imago dei” three times, and each time it refers to God’s view of mankind, not mankind’s view of himself.
First, we see God creating man in His image (Genesis 1:26-27). Then we see that the children born to the first man and woman are also “in the image of God” (Genesis 5:1-3, with 1:26-27 revisited).
The third time Genesis uses the phrase imago dei is highly significant and points to the sanctity of all human life — again from God’s perspective — when God institutes capital punishment for murder.
Here is what we see: Noah and his family have just departed the ark following the flood and God gives them the basic laws they are to live by. Two laws are brand new: first, from this point on you will be eating meat, and do not eat it alive or raw; second, “Whoever sheds human blood, by other humans must his blood be shed; for in God’s image God has made humankind” (Genesis 9:6, NET).
Scripture’s emphasis on the imago dei does not end with Genesis 9. In the New Testament, Jesus’ half-brother James revisits and intensifies how we are to regard one another when he says, “But no human being can subdue the tongue; it is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse people made in God’s image” (James 3:8-9, emphasis added).
The list goes on and on, including how there is rejoicing in heaven when ONE sinner turns from their sinfulness and surrenders to Christ as Savior (Luke 15:7, 10). This rejoicing comes as a result of the restoration of a lost loved one to their rightful and intended place as a future co-inheritor with Jesus, one who will be glorified right along beside Him (Romans 5:1-2, 6, 8, 10; Romans 8:16-17, 28-29).
Remember that block of gold? When we have turned from our own sinful, selfish ways and surrendered to Him, another change takes place (more in Lesson 2). Our inherent worth is still there, but there is a change in our functional value (the “new creation” of 2 Corinthians 5:17). When a person is converted, it is like being the block of gold taken out from under the manure pile, being cleaned up, and now available for God to “tap” and put in the game.
In Ephesians 2:10, we find one of the most beautiful word-pictures in all of Scripture regarding worth: “For we are His masterpiece, created anew in Christ Jesus so the good things He planned for us long ago would be our way of life.”
Think of a master artisan, like Michelangelo, crafting a magnificent statue out of a clump of marble. It does not start out very pretty at all, but the end result is a magnificent piece of art. You see, in Ephesus, the home of the Temple of Diana (or Temple of Artemis) – one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient Word – the city was full of artisans: sculptors, carvers, potters, silversmiths and goldsmiths, jewel faceters, and the like.
What they created were called poiema (think “work of art,” not “craftsmanship”). “Work of art, masterpiece”: That is the way the word poiema can be best understood. It is pronounced “poh-EE-ma” and is an ancient Greek term for “visible expression,” and it is where our English word “poem” comes from.
You, according to Scripture, are God’s “poem,” a masterpiece from the Hand of the Creator. Just as the artisan seeks to express his heart and mind through his work, so the Creator seeks to express His heart and mind through you.
There is inherent worth and honor in being His poiema, yet there is responsibility as well. Being His “visible expression” means we need to prayerfully seek to have a solid hold on our inherent worth, on our identity in Christ (for those who are believers), and to more and more fully “express” His will and His ways, His heart and His mind.
All of this means that, instead of getting our sense of worth and value from what we do and how flawlessly (or poorly) we do it, we focus on being who He created us to be in Christ, and allow the “doing” to flow naturally from the “being” - like ripe fruit falling from a tree.
A peach tree does not have to sit out in the orchard and focus all of its attention on growing peaches (“I’ve gotta grow peaches; I’ve gotta grow peaches…”)—it simply grows peaches because it IS a peach tree and that’s what peach trees DO...the “doing” flows naturally from the “being.” We were created as human “beings,” not human “doings.”
God created us worthy of love, worthy of dignity, worthy of His very best: the sacrifice of His Son in our place. We cannot change that any more than we can change our eye color, our gender (XX and XY chromosome structures cannot be changed), or our DNA from human to something else.
Our inherent worth is just as much a part of us as our humanity and it cannot be taken from us. And even if there are those in our life who now deny or have denied us that dignity and worth, it does NOT change the fact that we are inherently worthy of it.
There is more to be said about this further on, but please hold on to this truth: While we are not deserving of any good thing (it cannot be earned), we are fully worthy of God’s BEST—we were created that way!
Now, in reality, this idea of bearing the imago dei is only the beginning of how we are to understand our inherent worth and value. In Psalm 8, David ponders over how it could possibly be that the Divine Creator of all that exists would have regard for mankind, and — even more significantly — would place His creation in the hands of mankind to steward and to manage.
Or consider Jesus, who, in Matthew 6, invests quite a few moments charging His listeners not to be anxious about any of their needs. Their Heavenly Father knows all of their needs, just as He does the needs of the birds He provides for, and “you are of far more value than they.” God also provides beautifully for the grass and flowers, even though, once again, humankind is worth far more than any plant (Matthew 6:28-29). We can rest assured then, says Jesus, that God will provide for the humans He has created in His image even more than he does for the grass and flowers (Matthew 6:30-33).
Later in Matthew, Jesus again says something else significant for our understanding of human value and worth. In Matthew 16:26, He asks, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” As far as Jesus is concerned, one person (and that means YOU!) is of FAR more WORTH than the created universe!
In Luke 12:6-7, Jesus declares, “Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows” (emphasis added).
In Ephesians 2:10, we find one of the most beautiful word-pictures in all of Scripture regarding worth: “For we are His masterpiece, created anew in Christ Jesus so the good things He planned for us long ago would be our way of life.”
Think of a master artisan, like Michelangelo, crafting a magnificent statue out of a clump of marble. It does not start out very pretty at all, but the end result is a magnificent piece of art. You see, in Ephesus, the home of the Temple of Diana (or Temple of Artemis) – one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient Word – the city was full of artisans: sculptors, carvers, potters, silversmiths and goldsmiths, jewel faceters, and the like.
What they created were called poiema (think “work of art,” not “craftsmanship”). “Work of art, masterpiece”: That is the way the word poiema can be best understood. It is pronounced “poh-EE-ma” and is an ancient Greek term for “visible expression,” and it is where our English word “poem” comes from.
You, according to Scripture, are God’s “poem,” a masterpiece from the Hand of the Creator. Just as the artisan seeks to express his heart and mind through his work, so the Creator seeks to express His heart and mind through you.
There is inherent worth and honor in being His poiema, yet there is responsibility as well. Being His “visible expression” means we need to prayerfully seek to have a solid hold on our inherent worth, on our identity in Christ (for those who are believers), and to more and more fully “express” His will and His ways, His heart and His mind.
All of this means that, instead of getting our sense of worth and value from what we do and how flawlessly (or poorly) we do it, we focus on being who He created us to be in Christ, and allow the “doing” to flow naturally from the “being” - like ripe fruit falling from a tree.
A peach tree does not have to sit out in the orchard and focus all of its attention on growing peaches (“I’ve gotta grow peaches; I’ve gotta grow peaches…”)—it simply grows peaches because it IS a peach tree and that’s what peach trees DO...the “doing” flows naturally from the “being.” We were created as human “beings,” not human “doings.”
God created us worthy of love, worthy of dignity, worthy of His very best: the sacrifice of His Son in our place. We cannot change that any more than we can change our eye color, our gender (XX and XY chromosome structures cannot be changed), or our DNA from human to something else.
Our inherent worth is just as much a part of us as our humanity and it cannot be taken from us. And even if there are those in our life who now deny or have denied us that dignity and worth, it does NOT change the fact that we are inherently worthy of it.
There is more to be said about this further on, but please hold on to this truth: While we are not deserving of any good thing (it cannot be earned), we are fully worthy of God’s BEST—we were created that way!
Now, in reality, this idea of bearing the imago dei is only the beginning of how we are to understand our inherent worth and value. In Psalm 8, David ponders over how it could possibly be that the Divine Creator of all that exists would have regard for mankind, and — even more significantly — would place His creation in the hands of mankind to steward and to manage.
Or consider Jesus, who, in Matthew 6, invests quite a few moments charging His listeners not to be anxious about any of their needs. Their Heavenly Father knows all of their needs, just as He does the needs of the birds He provides for, and “you are of far more value than they.” God also provides beautifully for the grass and flowers, even though, once again, humankind is worth far more than any plant (Matthew 6:28-29). We can rest assured then, says Jesus, that God will provide for the humans He has created in His image even more than he does for the grass and flowers (Matthew 6:30-33).
Later in Matthew, Jesus again says something else significant for our understanding of human value and worth. In Matthew 16:26, He asks, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” As far as Jesus is concerned, one person (and that means YOU!) is of FAR more WORTH than the created universe!
In Luke 12:6-7, Jesus declares, “Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows” (emphasis added).
Imagine walking through the garage with a box full of Fiestaware – those brightly colored ceramic dishes that immediately catch your eye when you walk into the dishware section of a department store. Now, imagine that the bottom of the box splits open and the entire contents of the box crashes onto the concrete floor. CRASH!!
Shattered pieces of bright red and blue and green and yellow and orange and purple ceramic are in a pile at your feet. Hundreds of pieces – their bright white insides showing along the edges – lay scattered across the floor.
What do you do?
Most of us – after our shock and confusion subsides – will start cleaning up the mess and throwing away what has now become trash. Even if we consider trying to glue some of the bigger pieces back together, we will realize that the effort would be futile, at best.
But when God – our Creator and Heavenly Father – sees the wreckage and shattered pieces of our life, He does not see trash; He sees TREASURE. God, the Master Artisan, takes all of those broken pieces and begins putting them together into a mosaic – a work of art that did not exist before, and one that could not exist WITHOUT THE BROKEN PIECES!
Ask God to help you see the Masterpiece He originally created you to be, and that He is even now transforming you into being. Ask Him to help you trust Him to mold and shape you into the beautifully unique work-of-art He intends for You to be. Ask Him to help you accept His acceptance of you because you are His in Christ.
Shattered pieces of bright red and blue and green and yellow and orange and purple ceramic are in a pile at your feet. Hundreds of pieces – their bright white insides showing along the edges – lay scattered across the floor.
What do you do?
Most of us – after our shock and confusion subsides – will start cleaning up the mess and throwing away what has now become trash. Even if we consider trying to glue some of the bigger pieces back together, we will realize that the effort would be futile, at best.
But when God – our Creator and Heavenly Father – sees the wreckage and shattered pieces of our life, He does not see trash; He sees TREASURE. God, the Master Artisan, takes all of those broken pieces and begins putting them together into a mosaic – a work of art that did not exist before, and one that could not exist WITHOUT THE BROKEN PIECES!
Ask God to help you see the Masterpiece He originally created you to be, and that He is even now transforming you into being. Ask Him to help you trust Him to mold and shape you into the beautifully unique work-of-art He intends for You to be. Ask Him to help you accept His acceptance of you because you are His in Christ.
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